The implementation protocol of the Programme Agreement stipulates that the annual financial costs of the UNESCO Site Office and the Technical Secretary is to be supported by all institutional stakeholders signatory of the Agreement in measures that are proportionate to their financial capacities. This allows for a sustainable financial strategy based on shared contributions for the running and upkeep of two key elements of the governance and management structure of the site: the UNESCO Site Office and the Technical Secretary. The annual budget – foreseen to be around € 66.000,00/year – is covered via the contribution of eleven institutions (Liguria Region, Cinque Terre National Park, Regional Natural Park of Porto Venere, Municipalities of Porto Venere, Levanto (voluntarily withdrawn in 2019), Monterosso al Mare, Pignone, Riomaggiore, La Spezia, Vernazza, Beverino, Riccò del Golfo). The Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism does not directly contribute to the annual budget but it offers further technical support via its technical and scientific experts.

The governance structure has been officially established through the signature of a Programme Agreement by all the institutional stakeholders that operate in various capacities for the management and conservation of the site and its buffer zone: the Liguria Region, the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism, the Cinque Terre National Park, the Municipality of Porto Venere - Regional Natural Park of Porto Venere, and the Municipalities of Levanto (withdrawn in 2019 from the UNESCO office), Monterosso al Mare, Pignone, Riomaggiore, La Spezia, Vernazza, Beverino, Riccò del Golfo.

The Agreement defines the role of stakeholders and establishes the following structure (BB4):

• Coordination Committee ensuring that effective management is in place
• Community of buffer zone Municipalities coordinating objectives, problems, and activities relating to the buffer zone
• Technical-administrative work group responsible for implementing the Management Plan
• Technical Secretary supporting committees and working groups
• Consulting Committee (advisory role)
• UNESCO site office, which acts as site manager for the site and carries out joint site promotion activities and ensures the smooth running of the technical-administrative board.

The network is an opportunity to explore the Dolomites’ cultural richness in connection to its Outstanding Universal Value, though a series of multilingual (including minorities) museums located in mountain communities and cultural itineraries made to explore the Dolomites and its people and history. As museum play a key role in the life of local communities and they support the recording of local history and experiences through time, these places are also fundamental for communicating the values of the Dolomites through several natural and cultural perspectives.

Museums and cultural itineraries play a key role in raising awareness on the life of local communities and the experience lived by these territories from prehistory, through the two world wars until today, through events that have deeply shaped the cultural and social communities of this areas. The network of museums is a key platform for the direct interaction with local communities and for these communities to share their knowledge about the Dolomites and the historical events that have shaped its landscapes.

Last but not least, the offer a chance for people with physical disabilities to explore the Dolomites in an accessible way

Awareness raising on the values of the Dolomites as a World Heritage property is necessary for the long term conservation of the place but also a provision of the World Heritage Convention.

In order to further advance awareness raising efforts among citizens, communities and local actors living insider and nearby the Dolomites, the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation has created a weekly television segment called Noi, Dolomiti UNESCO” (in English “We are the UNESCO Dolomites”) in which are presented the experiences and lives of people living, operating and/or working inside the territory of the Dolomites. The series is televised through the main television channels of the five provinces and the two regions in which the Dolomites are located, and via YouTube.

This activity aims at raising awareness at the wider level of regional and territorial communities, focusing on the natural and cultural values of the site but also exploring the social and economic lives of local communities and people.

The building block focuses on the network of agricultural producers and breeders that has been established under the framework of the project “Produttori di Qualità”(in English “producers of quality”). The network is currently made of 72 local individuals/small companies dedicated to the production of food and beverage products that are certified for their quality. The network includes producers focused on the creation of quality products rather than quantity.

The project focused on enhancing the awareness of living and operating in a World Heritage site and in creating meaningful networks of good practices and cooperation between producers, valuing the specificity of each product.

This has also become a platform for the creation of a direct connection between quality production and mountain huts, and hence enhancing the experience of locals, visitors, tourists as well as promoting local products and creating a mean for a sustainable economic development. In this cases farmers and breeders are not only seen as users of the natural environment, but active actors in the conservation of the landscape of the Dolomites.